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Murals display students' art skills

Rapides High juniors La’Darius Malone (left) and Teresa Rubio use paint pens to draw letters and numbers of a computer matrix raining code on a mural they have been working on since October. The mural has a technology theme due to its proximity to the school’s technology lab.(Photo: Leigh Guidry/lguidry@thetowntalk.com)

LECOMPTE – Rapides High art students are displaying their skills with seven new murals painted throughout the school.

Art teacher Brenda Howell expanded the project that began with three murals last year to seven due to larger class sizes in advanced art courses.

At the beginning of this nine-week period, Howell divided students into groups of three or four per mural and then stepped back. The project is student-led. They come up with an idea, sketch a design and paint a much larger version onto a wall in a hallway or classroom.

Each mural's theme fits its location. The U.S. history classroom now boasts a large colorful map of the country. The hallway to the technology lab features a globe connected to computers by silver wires. Its black backdrop has lines of green numbers and letters that look like computer matrix raining codes.

"It's by the tech lab, so we wanted to incorporate something that had to do with technology, something that expressed how technology connects the world," junior Charli Stanley said.

Charli and her groupmates — Hannah Guillory, La'Darius Malone and Teresa Rubio — painted social media site logos onto computer screens connected to the wires. They chose four sites they use to connect to others every day — Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

They began brainstorming in late October and have spent their one hour of art a day out of the classroom to work on their mural. The project should be completed by Christmas break.

Howell, who recently was named the school's Teacher of the Year, has students work in groups for logistical reasons and to teach life skills. She said working with peers teaches cooperation and problem-solving.

The group of juniors fixed issues with the project by making adjustments along the way. The original sketch had the wires much longer, but it didn't fit the space on the wall. The students have painted and repainted the matrix for aesthetics and to hide their names in it.

Howell also pushed her students out of their comfort zones by grouping kids of different friend groups and skill levels. It seems to have worked.

"We've all become closer," Hannah said.

Rapides High art students are working in groups to paint seven murals across the campus. Teresa Rubio (left), La’Darius Malone, Charli Stanley and Hannah Guillory painted a globe connected to computers featuring four social media sites they use on a daily basis.(Photo: Leigh Guidry/lguidry@thetowntalk.com)